SYDNEY, NS, Oct. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums
(CAZA), the national organization representing accredited zoological
institutions, today welcomed the support of the mayors of Atlantic
Canada's largest cities for more stringent provincial rules on exotic
animals and the licensing of zoos and aquariums.

"On behalf of Canada's accredited zoo and aquarium community, I want to
thank the mayors for their support and leadership on this issue," said
Massimo Bergamini, CAZA Executive Director.

The mayors were in meeting in Sydney as part of the semi-annual Atlantic
Mayors' Congress.

"The mayors know first hand the public safety, animal welfare and
environmental issues that can arise when exotic animals are not
properly cared for; just as they know that municipal governments do not
have the legislative authority or the inspection and enforcement
resources adequate to the task".

"We're confident that this strong support will help break down the
policy and political silos that have created the current patchwork of
hard-to-understand-and- enforce rules and regulations across the
country".

The mayors adopted a resolution supporting CAZA's advocacy in this area
and urging the governments of the four Atlantic provinces to study the
issue and bring it to the Council of the Federation in order to foster
a national discussion. They will also ask their national body, the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to share their resolution
with all municipalities.

CAZA plans to quickly leverage this support and will be seeking meetings
with senior Atlantic Canada provincial officials over the next few
weeks to initiate the process.